Days numbered on 6% FHA concessions
By Kenneth R. Harney
Syndicated columnist
WASHINGTON One of the key attractions of FHA home-mortgage financing is going, going, but not quite gone. Sellers and buyers who move fast can still make the most of it.
Sometime this summer, the Federal Housing Administration plans to slash maximum “seller concessions” from 6 percent of… Read More
FHA concessions of 6% to disapear soon. (Seattle Times)
Seattle Shipward staying afloat (Seattle Times)
Seattle’s Todd Pacific Shipyards stays afloat in a sinking industry
By Susan Gilmore
THERE SHE WAS: one of the state’s most influential legislators, a 69-year-old grandmother fitted with a hard hat and goggles and climbing a narrow, icy ladder while dodging sparks from a welding torch on a cold December afternoon.
Why do that?
For state Sen. Mary Margaret… Read More
Mercer Island Property set for Auction (Seattle Times)
Mercer Island property once listed for $40 million is going up for auction in April
By Eric Pryne
Seattle Times business reporter
Next up: A 23,00-square-foot Mercer Island waterfront mansion, complete with a 12-foot Chihuly chandelier in the entry, a 66-foot indoor saltwater pool, a stocked trout pond and two count ‘em, two wine cellars.
Bidding starts at $15… Read More
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac start buying back bad loans (Seattle Times)
Fannie, Freddie to start buying back bad loans
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Government-controlled mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Wednesday they will buy back troubled loans contained in securities they already have sold to investors.
The two companies are repurchasing mortgage loans for which borrowers have missed at least four months of payments. At the… Read More



